The following discussion of this background section is intended to facilitate an understanding of the present invention. However, it should be appreciated that the discussion is not an acknowledgment or admission that any of the material referred to was published, known or part of the common general knowledge in any jurisdiction as at the priority date of the application.
Heart disease is a serious health problem in developed countries. One indicator of potential heart disease is variances in the blood pressure of the living body from a designated range of “normal” values.
A common method of determining the blood pressure of a living body is to take a brachial blood pressure reading (both systolic and diastolic) of the living body using a pressure cuff. These values are commonly then used as surrogate central aortic pressure values. While this assumption has historically been proven as beneficial in indicating potential heart disease, recent studies have shown that a “normal” brachial blood pressure value measured in this manner may mask abnormal central aortic systolic pressure values.
One solution to this problem has been adopted by Atcor Medical Pty Ltd of West Ryde, New South Wales, Australia. Atcor's solution uses a proprietary transfer formula to convert a radial pressure waveform to a central aortic blood pressure waveform. However, this formula is only available through proprietary software made commercially available by Atcor for use with its SphygmoCor™ blood pressure monitoring system. More importantly, the formula is based on a correlation value determined through testing on a cross-representation of patients and therefore may introduce error in central aortic pressure readings on patients that fall outside the realms of the cross-representative sample.